From the Agency for Healthcare and Quality (AHRQ)
July 2014
Antidepressant Treatment of Depression During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period, a research review from AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program, has found there is not enough evidence to determine the relative benefits and harms of depression treatment in pregnant and postpartum women. Some of the evidence shows a higher risk of breathing difficulty in newborn children of women with depression who took selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors during pregnancy, compared with those women who did not.
The review also found that there is not enough evidence to make an association between autism spectrum disorder and depression during pregnancy, antidepressant treatment or the interaction of the two. According to the review, future research is needed to compare available treatments in groups of women with depression that takes into account the impact of dose, severity of depression, timing of diagnosis or prior depressive episodes.
Select to access Antidepressant Treatment of Depression During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period Report.